By Edward Lynn, Editor
EAGLE GROVE, Iowa – Local business and community leaders gathered at the Rails Depot event center Monday night, for the joint annual dinner of the Eagle Grove Chamber of Commerce and the Community Development Corporation (CDC), where speakers highlighted economic development, housing projects, infrastructure improvements, and plans for future community enhancements.
Jess Toliver, President of the CDC and Superintendent of the Eagle Grove Community School District, emphasized the ongoing need for
housing development. “We continue to work on housing. At this point, we have two houses, and we’re working on our third,” he said. “We’re building houses without buyers, which is a little risky, but we need more living situations—homes, apartments—to bring people into the community.” He also pointed to the CDC’s Main Street project, which has cleared properties for future redevelopment.
Toliver provided insight into shifting demographics within the school district, noting, “This year, we are now 51% minority, 49% white—our
first year flipping those numbers.” He stressed that this has brought new opportunities, as Eagle Grove’s schools have continued to succeed without absorbing a smaller school district, as many others have done. And he also emphasized the importance of educating our children to adjust to changes in society, and technology. “If you do not like change, you will like irrelevance even less,” Tolliver warned.
City Administrator Bryce Davis outlined the city’s recent accomplishments and future projects, including a 4.2% increase in taxable valuation. “We went from $94 million in tax valuation to $97 million,” he said. “This increase allows us to expand our budget without major cuts.” Davis detailed the completion of the 2024 street and park improvement projects and announced a $1.8 million infrastructure project for 2025. “We’ll be addressing about 23 blocks, including Northeast Second Street, Northwest Eighth Street, and Southwest First Street.”
Davis also discussed upgrades to the city’s water infrastructure, including the repair of the Aquatic Center, which previously lost 50,000 gallons of water per day. “We brought it back down
to 15,000-20,000 gallons per day, making it sustainable,” he said, noting that those
amounts are typical for splash over, leakage, and evaporation in similar outdoor aquatic centers. Other improvements include sewer system upgrades and ongoing efforts to combat dilapidated housing and nuisance properties.
Matt Schreiber provided an update on the Recreation Center project. “Right now, there’s a lot of progress inside—drywall, framing, and painting. Batting cages and basketball hoops are up,” he said. While an official opening date has yet to be determined, he estimated late spring or early summer. “The youth in this town are really looking forward to it,” he added.
Local business owner Mickey Cooper, who operates The Grove Hotel, discussed the hotel’s success and plans for an event center. “The hotel is important to our tax base—we pay $72,000 in property taxes annually,” she said. Cooper has secured land adjacent to the hotel for an event center, and plans to begin fundraising. But, she noted, construction of the project will not get underway until all the fundraising is complete. “I will not start until I have the funding because I am not going to do something that will not be successful.”
Dr. Brandon Hauck, local optometrist and President of the Chamber Board, praised Chamber Director Brooke Hathaway for her first year of leadership. “She’s brought new ideas and a fresh outlook,” he said. Hauck recapped recent Chamber events, including the return of Summerfest to downtown, a successful local lottery campaign that generated over $12,000 in local spending, and the first-ever barbecue competition. “We’re planning to expand our ‘shop local’ initiatives and look for new ways to support businesses.”
As the evening concluded, speakers reinforced the importance of collaboration and commitment to Eagle Grove’s future. “Keep showing up for each other, shop local, and together, we can make Eagle Grove a great place to live and do business,” Hauck said.
The attendees were served a delicious meal of pork loin (donated by Prestage Foods) with sides of cheesy potatoes and maple and bacon baked beans, prepared by Nine and Dine. (Photos by Edward Lynn)
